Furniture comprising laminated slats and methods of manufacturing such furniture

Abstract

Furniture comprises a strong, aesthetically appealing, woven lattice of interlocking slats. The slats are made of wood laminate having indentations allowing fitting of the slats across one another so as to form the lattice. Advantageously, the furniture may be manufactured of a single type of material, that of the bent wood laminate slats. No other supporting structural material is needed to make the furniture simultaneously possess the advantages of being sturdy, aesthetically appealing, economical to manufacture, and light in structure and appearance. The methods of manufacturing such furniture has also been included.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A chair having a seat, a back and support legs, said chair comprising: a plurality of first elongated slats extending in a first direction and arranged next to each other, each of said first slats including alternating first indentations preformed prior to assembly and being arranged to define a portion of the chair seat; and   a plurality of second elongated slats extending in a second direction and arranged next to each other, each of said second slats including alternating second indentations preformed prior to assembly and being arranged in a woven relationship with said first preformed indentations to define the remaining portion of the chair seat, each of said first and second slats contributing to collectively define said chair seat, said chair back and said support legs.   
     
     
       2. The chair of claim 1, further comprising securing means for securing said first and second slats together at said crossing points. 
     
     
       3. The chair of claim 1, further comprising securing means for securing said first and second slats together at said crossing points. 
     
     
       4. The chair of claim 1, wherein said first and second slats are made from wood. 
     
     
       5. The chair of claim 4, wherein said first and second slats are made of laminated layers. 
     
     
       6. A chair having a seat and a back, said chair comprising: a plurality of first elongated slats extending in a first direction and arranged next to each other, each of said first slats including alternating first indentations preformed prior to assembly and being arranged to define a portion of the chair seat; and   a plurality of second elongated slats extending in a second direction and arranged next to each other, each of said second slats including alternating second indentations preformed prior to assembly and being arranged in a woven relationship, said first indentations mating with said second indentations to define the remaining portion of the chair seat, said first and second directions being at angles to each other and said first and second indentations complementing each other at crossing points to define essentially flat upper and lower surfaces within the chair seat.   
     
     
       7. The chair of claim 6 further comprising base means for supporting said chair seat, said base means being defined by said first and second elongated slats. 
     
     
       8. The article of furniture of claim 6, further comprising securing means for securing said first and second slats together at said cross points. 
     
     
       9. The chair of claim 6, wherein said first and second directions are at right angles to each other. 
     
     
       10. The chair of claim 6, wherein said first and second slats are made from wood. 
     
     
       11. The chair of claim 10, wherein said first and second slats are made of laminated layers. 
     
     
       12. An article of furniture having a planar utilization area, the article comprising: a plurality of first elongated slats extending in a first direction and arranged next to each other, each of said first slats including alternating first indentations preformed prior to assembly and being arranged to define a portion of said utilization area; and   a plurality of second elongated slats extending in a second direction and arranged next to each other, each of said second slats including alternating second indentations preformed prior to assembly and being arranged in a woven relationship, said first preformed indentations mating with said second preformed indentations to define the remaining portion of said utilization area, said first and second directions being at angles to each other and said first and second preformed indentations complementing each other at crossing points to define essentially flat upper and lower surfaces within said utilization area.   
     
     
       13. The article of furniture of claim 12, further comprising base means for supporting said utilization area, said base means being defined by said first and second elongated slats. 
     
     
       14. The article of furniture of claim 12, wherein said first and second slats are made from wood. 
     
     
       15. The article of furniture of claim 14, wherein said first and second slats are made of laminated layers. 
     
     
       16. The chair of claim 12, wherein said first and second directions are at right angles to each other. 
     
     
       17. An article of furniture comprising: surface area defined by a lattice of interlocking slats preformed prior to assembly, each of the slats including plural layers of laminated wood, the slats having two faces and a series of consecutive segments, the consecutive segments and connecting segments; and (a) the contact surface segments located adjacent an imaginary central plane, with consecutive contact surface segments being on opposite sides of the imaginary central plane so that consecutive contact surfaces are on opposite faces of the slats; and   (b) the connecting segments traversing the imaginary central plane to join consecutive contact surface segments;     wherein the lattice comprises the slats overlapping and touching at respective contact surfaces and being interlocked into the lattice by the angle of the connecting segments.   
     
     
       18. The article of furniture of claim 17, wherein the overlapping slats of the lattice are affixed to one another at the contact surfaces at which said overlapping strips touch. 
     
     
       19. The article of furniture of claim 17, wherein the slats overlap at substantially right angles. 
     
     
       20. The article of furniture of claim 17, wherein the slats of laminated wood are of a common thickness, so that the lattice globally comprises two lattice surface planes which are substantially smooth, and equidistant from the imaginary central plane.